


Detention Therapy

by Jedflah



Category: Back to the Future (Movies)
Genre: Enemies to Frenemies?, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Oneshot, Pre-Canon, biff go die challenge?, there can be one good tannen as a treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:26:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24729676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jedflah/pseuds/Jedflah
Summary: When Marty and his hereditary enemy, Tiff Tannen, get stuck alone in detention together, all they can do to not lose their minds is break the strict "no talking" rule. But what Tiff spills is something Marty never thought he would hear.
Relationships: Marty McFly & Tiffany "Tiff" Tannen
Comments: 6
Kudos: 17





	Detention Therapy

**Tuesday September 20, 1983, 3:30 PM**

The mostly empty school was something Marty had quickly grown accustomed to since his first year of high school. The echoes of his footsteps in the hallways, the lingering smell of BO and hormones, and the distant sounds of after school extracurriculars taking place in a few of the classrooms. Of course, that’s not why Marty stayed late some days.

Mr. Strickland opened the classroom and motioned for Marty to go inside. Not wanting to risk prolonging his sentence, he sat down at a desk next to the only other person in the room: a taller girl with hair teased to the heavens (who also had a nasty gum smacking problem). Strickland took his place at the front of the classroom and cleared his throat.

“Now you two know why you’re here, so I’ll keep this brief. No talking, no sleeping, and no doing homework or studying. I shouldn’t have to say that  _ every _ time, but apparently this generation has a hard time following instructions,” he said. He checked his watch and continued, “I have to go oversee the student council meeting today, so someone will be coming soon to watch you. Any questions?”

The girl next to Marty raised her hand. “How come we can’t study or do homework? Don’t you want us to do good in school?” she sneered.

“You know, you have a real attitude problem, Tannen, and one day you’re gonna get what’s coming to you.”

“Well sor-ry for asking a question.” She rolled her eyes. “Why’d you even ask if you were just gonna yell at me for it?”

Without another word, Strickland stormed out of the classroom, slamming the door shut behind him.

The smacking of the girl’s gum panged in Marty’s head like he was a goldfish in a tank being perpetually tapped. He turned to her and snapped, “Can you knock it off?”

“It’s a free country, butthead.”

“Yeah, well, you’re being obnoxious.”

“So?”

“So it’s getting on my nerves. C’mon we’re both in the same boat here. What if I started clicking my pen and didn’t stop?”

She shrugged. “My gum’s louder.”

Marty huffed and rolled his eyes. “So, uh, what are you in for anyway?”

Tiff shrugged again. “Keyed Mrs. Harris’s car and punctured her tires.”

“Holy shit! What for?”

“She gave me a C minus on my geometry test. I’d rather be here than in a parent-teacher meeting anyway,” she said.

“Jeez, how many times have you been in here?”

She counted on her fingers and said, “Almost every day after school and most Saturdays.”

Marty drummed his fingers on the desk. “Why not join a club or something instead of doing shit that gets you here?”

“You kiddin’ me? Those dorks are so lame. Besides, it wouldn’t keep me away from home long enough. This at least gives me a good excuse to stay away since I have to be y’know?”

Tiff’s gum smacking slowed to a halt as she stared at the floor between their desks. Marty had stopped drumming his fingers at this point and just looked at her.

“Your dad comes over a lot. He’s my dad’s supervisor and kind of a bully. No offence, that is.”

She swatted the air. “None taken. That doesn’t really surprise me. S’why my mom left him.” She looked up at Marty. “I… don’t know why I said that.”

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

“What are you, a therapist?”

Marty shrugged. “No, but sometimes it just feels good to vent, I guess.”

“Yeah, I guess.” She rested her head on her fist. “I’m sorry your dad’s a loser that can’t stand up for himself-”

“Hey!”

“What? My dad’s not  _ that _ bad once you know how to deal with him. Your dad’s just weak I guess.”

Marty balled his hands into fists and scrunched up his face. “Y’know you talk a lot of nerve-”

“Oh what are you gonna do, fight me and get in more trouble? You lay a hand on me and I’ll ruin your life, McFly.”

“Alright, fine. Whatever,” he spat. 

Tiff started playing with her gum and staring at the wall. It was still gross to Marty, but it was better than hearing her smack.

“He comes home drunk sometimes. It’s a crap shoot every night, but when he does, he gets mean. It’s like he blames me and my brother for mom leaving. Sometimes he just yells at us, but other times…” she rubbed her shoulder, “he’s worse.”

A weight plummeted in Marty’s stomach. “Tiff I, I don’t know what to say. I mean I knew the guy sucked, but, I didn’t know about that.”

“S’fine I guess. I get most of it to keep my brother safe. He’s just a kid; he doesn’t need to be dealing with that shit.” She clenched her fist. “Y’know sometimes I just wanna tell him to make like a tree and piss off.”

“Same here, to be honest.”

Tiff cracked a small smile. “I guess we can bond over our mutual hatred for my dad.” Her expression fell again. “Y’know I heard about all the shit he did to your mom in high school. He talks about her all the time when he’s drunk. Good for her for staying away from that creep.”

“Wait huh? I mean I knew he had a thing for her, but-”

Tiff sighed. “Alright, well, just know that he’s, like, the ultimate shitbag in every way possible and I hate him.”

“Jeez, this is heavy.”

“No shit.”

A few more minutes passed and they were still sitting in a silent, empty room. 

“Did they just forget about us?” Marty asked.

“Guess so.” Tiff looked at the door. “If you wanna leave, you can go. I won’t snitch on you.”

“Do you  _ want  _ me to leave?”

Tiff paused. “Not really.”

“Then I’ll stay.”

“... Thanks I guess.” She traced the wood pattern on the desk with her finger for a while before speaking again. “Jen’s real lucky to have a guy like you.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot you and Jennifer hang out sometimes.”

“She’s too good for you, you know.”

“Oh, yeah uh, I guess.” Marty rubbed the back of his neck. “I’d do anything for her, though. It’s like, when I first saw her, I knew we were meant to be, y’know?”

“That’s stupid… but kinda sweet I guess.”

“I know she’s out of my league, but she’s so smart and funny and pretty! I feel like I fall in love with her all over again every time I see her.”

Tiff stared down at the desk. “Alright, I get it! Just know this, McFly, if you ever break her heart,” she turned back to Marty, “I’ll break your neck!”

“Hey, you’ll have to get in line behind all her other friends and exes.”

The minutes scraped by like they were hours and still, not a teacher coming in sight.

“Do you ever wish you could prevent your own conception, Marty?”

_ ‘Since when are we on a first name basis?’ _ “Uh, I guess sometimes when I’m having a really bad day but-”

“Would you do it? Would you really do it, though?”

“Uh, I guess not on purpose, no. My life isn’t perfect, but it’s the only life I have. Some days are shitty, but that just means I’m one day closer to having a great day. And even on the shittiest days, I still have some things to look forward to like seeing Jen at school or my job. Y’know, silver linings and all that. How about you?”

“I think about doing it all the time. Like, if I had a time machine, I’d probably go back to my dad’s years in high school and castrate him.”

Marty winced and brought his knees together. “Jeez, that’s a bit extreme, don’t you think?”

“I only work in extremes, butthead.”

Marty nodded nervously and looked away from Tiff. “Uh, well if I had a time machine, I’d probably go into the future to see who wins the next 50 world series, and then come back and bet on all the winners.”

Tiff chuckled. “That’s pretty good actually. What would you do with all the money though?”

Marty shrugged. “Probably commit tax fraud.”

Now that made Tiff laugh. A real, genuine laugh. Nothing sarcastic or vitriolic about it. Just a kid, laughing. 

But just as soon as she started laughing, she stopped. The door to the classroom had opened and Strickland was there. “I thought I said, ‘no talking.’ Now, I think you’ll have to stay here an extra hour. How’s that sound?”

“Why don’t you go take the stick out of your ass, Strickland?” Tiff barked. “Marty wasn’t even talking, I was just trying to get him in trouble.”

“Well then, I suppose you’ll be getting an extra hour of detention, Ms. Tannen. As for you, Mr. McFly, you’re free to go.”

Tiff slid a note into Marty’s backpack as he got up to leave the room and head to Doc’s. On the way there, he pulled out the note and read it.

“Thanks for listening to me. This doesn’t mean we’re friends though,” it said. For a Tannen, Tiff had pretty good handwriting.

**Author's Note:**

> So, I know Tiff is only mentioned once in the game and has a minor appearance in the comic mini-series based on the game, but I wanted to know more about her especially since we don't see any female Tannens other than Biff's grandma. Anyway, I bet it would be pretty rough living in that house with Biff as a father in any timeline. We all saw how he treated Biff Jr. in the animated series right? And that was in the GOOD timeline...  
> (Also I have a personal little headcanon that Tiff was the first to correct Biff about the "make like a tree and get out of here" thing)


End file.
